Something is really wrong with Luke

[dachshunds4me]

Luke is our GSD (see my intro for pics)
Dog profile for Luke , a male German Shepherd/Dutch Shepherd

I don't know where to begin...well, we have suspected something was wrong with Luke, but last night he started vomiting.

He's been "off" for about 2 weeks now, he hasn't felt well since his vet visit the 12th, but not sick enough to worry too much - just has a lack of appetite here and there (like, won't eat breakfast but eats dinner, etc.) so didn't think too much of it.

Anyway last night he started throwing up and by 12noon he'd vomited more so we ended up bringing him in around 2 this afternoon.

He's been vomiting more (at the vet clinic) and now has progressed to watery diarrhea (it's just leaking out) and the most disturbing part is that he's lost 10lbs. since Oct. 12.

Our vet did a giardia test (negative), x-rays, which were all fine, bloodwork which, other than some values being off due to all the vomiting, were fine, but they did a urinalysis that showed he's metabolizing his own muscle due to the weight loss and he's not absorbing the nutrients in his food.

She's baffled as are we - we'll bring him in for barium x-rays tomorrow to see if he's got an intussusception.
If that's what it is, we can do surgery - if they cannot find anything, I just don't know what we'll do.

We have him at home right now to administer IV fluids as he's lost so much thru vomiting and now the watery diarrhea.

I'm very worried, I've been sick, myself (kidney stone or infection, one or the other) and I don't know what to do about Luke :-(

Please say a prayer for him. I'm so worried.

 

[Brattina88]

{{{{{{{{+++++vibes++++}}}}}}}}}

I hope they figure it out really soon!!

 

[CharlieDog]

***VIBES***

I hope they figure out what it is, and quickly!

 

[release the hounds]

sounds like intussusception or some sort of blockage is a very real possibility. I'd do that contrast x-ray right away

BTW, he looks like a beautiful long haired shepherd. Looks a lot like one I have in the face.

 

[dachshunds4me]

Well the soonest they can do it is tomorrow. I have to bring him back early in the AM.
Oh, they gave him an anti-emetic shot before we brought him home.

*He's a long-coat GSD and Dutch Shepherd mix.

 

[dachshunds4me]

Well that does me absolutely no good...

 

[GlassOnion]

Was he otherwise using the bathroom normally before the diarrhea started?

 

[dachshunds4me]

Well I think he'd have soft stools occasionally, but otherwise, yes he seemed okay.

I just can't understand the 10lb. weight loss in just shy of 3 weeks.
He was 96-97 lb. all summer. He's back to where he was when we first got him and that was the result of being starved in a kennel run in OR.

 

[corgipower]

Have them test for EPI.

I've seen that dramatic a weight loss twice in 10 years working with dogs - one was a partial obstruction and the other was maldigestion (she tested negative for EPI).

 

[dachshunds4me]

The bloodwork was fine so she ruled EPI out plus she said they are born with it so since he's 3, he should not even have it now - but either way the bloodwork was all WNLs.

They didn't see anything on the X-rays but the barium should either show something or rule it out tomorrow...

Maldigestion - is there anything more specific you'd call that? She mentioned IBS too.
But yeah...10lb. in just less than 3 weeks is huge...

 

[dachshunds4me]

Wouldn't the bloodwork show EPI...?

 

[GlassOnion]

Well I guess just wait for the barium. I don't think it'd be an obstruction if he had been doing well previously. That would've been an acute change, not a drawn out one. I suppose it could be a puncture in the intestines but that doesn't really explain why he's not digesting food (unless it's a huge puncture...).

A possible explanation would be something like parvo (though I doubt it, given his age, but it's a possibility), since that would have a gradual onset for an adult dog, and would cause for maldigestion (due to sloughing of the intestines), but that's just a guess.

Wouldn't the bloodwork show EPI...?

I don't think a normal chemistry panel would. IIRC you have to do a specific test (Trypsin reactivity or some such, you can google it if you want the exact name) to confirm a diagnosis.


Did she do a CBC?

 

[corgipower]

The bloodwork was fine so she ruled EPI out plus she said they are born with it so since he's 3, he should not even have it now - but either way the bloodwork was all WNLs.

They didn't see anything on the X-rays but the barium should either show something or rule it out tomorrow...

Maldigestion - is there anything more specific you'd call that? She mentioned IBS too.
But yeah...10lb. in just less than 3 weeks is huge...

EPI requires specific tests to diagnose it, and they may be born with a predisposition to develop EPI, but the symptoms can develop at any age. So I'd seriously suggest making sure they ran those tests before they rule it out.

EPI is a type of maldigestion. She had symptoms very similar to EPI but the tests were negative for that, so we just used a generic term. Just meant she wasn't adequately digesting her food.

DIAGNOSIS REQUIRES SPECIFIC TESTS

The biggest breakthrough in the diagnosis of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency was the development of the Serum Trypsin-like Immunoreactivity test, a blood test. Prior to this, an assortment of inaccurate fecal tests were utilized. The TLI test looks for a normal level of trypsin-like enzymes in the bloodstream. In the normal animals, trypsin, an enzyme of protein digestion, is stored in the pancreas in an inactive form so as to avoid digestion of one’s own body. Still, trace amounts of active enzyme make it into the bloodstream. This is harmless, normal, and detectable. A dog or cat with EPI will have almost no Serum Trypsin-like Immunoreactivity in the bloodstream. The patient must be fasted for the test to be accurate but only a single blood sample is needed to make the diagnosis. The feline version of this test often requires that the sample be sent to a university laboratory and generally a week or so is needed to get results but the canine test can be run in just a few days.

Another popular test is the Fecal Protease Test, where a stool sample is tested for protein digesting enzymes. Fasting is not necessary and any fecal sample will do; however, 3 consecutive samples are needed to get a consistent result as there is tremendous variability in fecal enzyme activity over the day. Sometimes soybeans are given to dogs to help stimulate release of pancreatic protein digestion enzymes and get a more accurate test.

The Fecal Elastase test (elastase being another digestive enzyme) is the newest test and it is only available for dogs. A single fecal sample is needed but the problem is that some times normal dogs will test negative for elastase. This means that EPI can be ruled out when the Elastase test is positive but not confirmed when the elastase test is negative.

 

[corgipower]

I don't think it'd be an obstruction if he had been doing well previously. That would've been an acute change, not a drawn out one.

Not necessarily if it's a partial obstruction.

 

[dachshunds4me]

I believe it was just a CBC yeah (but not sure). I will ask for this tomorrow, the Trypsin thing.

 

[dachshunds4me]

Oh...I forgot until just now, they did another that won't be ready until tomorrow. Maybe that's it.

 

[GlassOnion]

Not necessarily if it's a partial obstruction.

Right but even a partial one would probably create some backlog. And if it were partial, you'd still have food getting through and getting digested, just at a slower rate. I'd think that it would cause chemistry values to change as well.

 

[corgipower]

Right but even a partial one would probably create some backlog. And if it were partial, you'd still have food getting through and getting digested, just at a slower rate. I'd think that it would cause chemistry values to change as well.

The one time I saw a dog with a partial obstruction, the symptoms were similar enough to what's described in the OP that I just wouldn't rule out the possibility too fast.

 

[dachshunds4me]

Hm...well hopefully tomorrow we'll find the cause...I've got some suggestions to make to the vet, too, thank you

 

[GlassOnion]

The one time I saw a dog with a partial obstruction, the symptoms were similar enough to what's described in the OP that I just wouldn't rule out the possibility too fast.

I don't think we can rule anything out at all since we've not seen the dog nor the blood values (within normal limits can still be abnormal).